Unit B Section 2.1 Flashcards
When and where did the first chemist live?
What was the period called?
The first chemists lived before 8000 B.C. in an area now called the Middle East
- Its was called the Stone Age because the only stone was used as tools. The metal wasn’t discovered
What did the first chemist do, once they learned to control fire?
they could cook their food, fire-harden mud bricks to strengthen them, and make tougher tools. Eventually this ability to control fire led to the production of glass and ceramic material.
Between 6000 B.C. and 1000 B.C., what were the materials early chemists investigated?
Between 6000 B.C. and 1000 B.C., early chemists investigated only materials that had a high value to
humans.
Ex.gold and copper.
Gold became highly valued because of its properties. It had attractive color and didn’t tarnish. Its softness made it easy to shape into detailed designs form into wire luster
Copper became valuable because it could be used to make pots, coins, tools, and jewelry. natural, untreated copper is brittle—that is, it breaks easily. In that state, therefore, it isn’t a useful material for making things. However, when copper is heated, it becomes very useful
Around 1200 B.C., what did a group of people in the Middle East called Hittites discovered
how to extract iron from rocks and turn it into a useful material. The Iron Age began.
combine iron with carbon to produce an even
harder material—steel.
Where does the word chemistry come from?
the word “chemistry” may be derived from the
Greek word khemeia, meaning juice of a plant.)
When did the idea that all matter is made up of particles start?
the Greek philosophers about 2500 years ago
Who were alchemists?
people who were part magicians, part scientists.
Where does the word alchemy come from?
The word “alchemy” comes from the Arabic word alkimiya, which translates as “the chemist.”)
Today, the study of alchemy would be called a pseudo-science (an activity that is not real science because it includes the use of magic
What did alchemists believe?
Alchemists believed that it should be possible to change metals into gold. Until 1600 a.d.
alchemists performed some of the first chemistry experiments.
Invented: beakers and filters.
What did the Arab alchemist Al-Razi discover?
discovered what we now call plaster of Paris—a material that today’s doctors still use to hold broken bones
Stone age:
-humans used only simple stone tools at the time.
- learned how to start and control fire;
-For example, they could cook their food, fire-harden mud bricks to strengthen them, and make them tougher tools.
- production of glass and ceramic material.
-
Bronze age:
-investigated only materials that had a high value to
humans.
-such as gold and copper
- Made a bronze sword
Iron age:
- discovered how to extract iron from rocks and
turn it into a useful material.
-combine iron with carbon to produce an even
harder material—steel.
-Steel meant sharper blades could be fashioned for hunting and stronger armor
-investigated the ways of extracting and using different types of liquids.
